9781422275979

SEVEN DAYS IN ITALY Each team member received a new pair of cleats to go along with her hand-me-down men’s jersey, plus ten dollars a day for food in Jesolo, Italy. The team, captained by University of

Washington defender Denise Bender, played four matches over seven days against teams from Denmark (twice), England, and Italy. The Americans lost three of the four matches with one draw, scoring just three goals in total.

Two of the goals came from Akers, including the very first goal in USWNT history, in the team’s second match against Denmark. Future National Soccer Hall of Fame midfielder Emily Pickering had the other. Mundialito Mundialito is Spanish for “little world cup”, and over the years the term has been applied to a variety of soccer tournaments. The tournament was first played in 1984, and the first match ever played by the USWNT was at the Mundialito in northern Italy in 1985. At the time, before an actual FIFA-sanctioned event for women existed, this was one of the most important women’s tournaments in the world. It was a four-team invitational event held in the town of Jesolo, a coastal town on the Adriatic Sea just outside of Venice. The U.S. team participated three times, with runner-up being its best result, which it earned in 1986. The Jesolo Mundialito was last played in 1988. 8 WORDS TO UNDERSTAND: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. SIDEBARS: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together dditional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS: Rea ers can view vid os by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additio al educational co tent to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS: These questi ns send the reader back to the text for more c reful tten ion o the eviden presented there. RESEARCH PROJECTS: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. The USWNT played its first international match at a tournament in the picturesque town of Jesolo, near Venice, Italy.

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR: